Browse the Archive
Explore W.E.B. Du Bois’s 600+ articles from The Crisis magazine organized by topic, person, place, time period, or volume.
By Subject
Browse articles by major themes in Du Bois’s writings:
Civil Rights & Racial Violence
- Lynching (72 articles)
- Anti-lynching legislation (12 articles)
- Voting rights (16 articles)
- Disenfranchisement (15 articles)
- Jim Crow laws (15 articles)
- Residential segregation (10 articles)
Political & Social Issues
- Women’s suffrage (16 articles)
- Interracial marriage (7 articles)
- White supremacy (9 articles)
Education & Culture
- Educational inequality (18 articles)
- Pan-Africanism (16 articles)
Military & War
- African American military service (World War I) (9 articles)
- Military discrimination (5 articles)
By People
Browse articles discussing specific historical figures:
U.S. Presidents & Politicians
- Woodrow Wilson (34 articles)
- Theodore Roosevelt (14 articles)
- Herbert Hoover (12 articles)
- Warren G. Harding (8 articles)
- William H. Taft (7 articles)
Racist Politicians
- James K. Vardaman (8 articles)
- Benjamin R. Tillman (6 articles)
Black Leaders & Intellectuals
- Booker T. Washington (17 articles)
- Marcus Garvey (7 articles)
- Robert R. Moton (7 articles)
- Frederick Douglass (6 articles)
- James Weldon Johnson (5 articles)
- Joel E. Spingarn (5 articles)
- Claude McKay (5 articles)
By Place
Browse articles by geographic focus:
United States - National & Regional
- United States (286 articles)
- Southern United States (162 articles)
- Northern United States (21 articles)
- Washington, D.C. (60 articles)
U.S. States
- Mississippi (36 articles)
- Georgia (15 articles)
- South Carolina (16 articles)
- Alabama (13 articles)
- Virginia (11 articles)
- Texas (12 articles)
U.S. Cities
- Chicago, Illinois (36 articles)
- Atlanta, Georgia (26 articles)
- New York, New York (20 articles)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (18 articles)
- Memphis, Tennessee (12 articles)
International
By Decade
1910s: The Founding Years
The Crisis is launched. Du Bois establishes his voice on segregation, voting rights, and the NAACP’s mission during a period of intense racial violence and World War I.
Key themes: Founding the NAACP, anti-lynching campaigns, WWI and the Great Migration
1920s: Post-War & Renaissance
The Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. Du Bois writes on the “New Negro,” Pan-Africanism, and the contradictions of American democracy.
Key themes: Pan-African Congresses, Harlem Renaissance, Marcus Garvey, political disillusionment
1930-1934: Depression Era
Du Bois’s final years at The Crisis. Economic crisis reshapes debates over segregation, self-help, and the role of organized labor.
Key themes: Great Depression, economic justice, debates on segregation
Other Ways to Explore
- All Articles (Chronological) - Complete listing with search
- By Volume & Issue - Browse by original publication
- Article Map - Geographic visualization
- Magazine Covers - Visual history of The Crisis